Security Upgrade Project Wrapped up at Y-12
The National Nuclear Security Administration said this week that a project to upgrade the security infrastructure at the Y-12 National Security Complex was completed ahead of schedule and approximately $20 million less than its initial $72 million budget. The Security Improvements Project (SIP), which the NNSA said cost $51.8 million, replaced existing alarm stations and access control systems with an upgraded system known as Argus that was designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Notably, the project was ongoing when three elderly peace activists reached the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility and the most secure areas of Y-12 in July of 2012, aided in part by faulty alarms and broken cameras. “Maintaining a safe and secure deterrent is one of NNSA’s most important responsibilities,” NNSA acting Chief of Defense Nuclear Security Michael Lempke said in a statement. “SIP is a continuation of NNSA’s goal to use the best, most modern security technology to keep the nation’s nuclear weapons and material secure.”
On NNSA’s website, Argus is described as an “integrated intrusion detection, alarm-monitoring, and access control system.” The NNSA said a new Argus host system was installed in the site’s Central Alarm Station and Secondary Alarm Station, and an access control system was implemented at HEUMF. The project also connected the plant using gateways, upgraded the Secondary Alarm System to allow for Argus system and operator consoles, and led to the installation of a new training and update system that is compatible with other Argus systems around the weapons complex.
Cost Reduction Explained
When asked for more details on the dramatic cost reduction—about 28 percent—on the security project, NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt confirmed there were some scope changes. However, he said most of the savings came through “effective project execution.” He said the project team “executed the installation, testing, and turnover very efficiently, without the typical starts/stops when jurisdiction changes from construction back to operations,” Wyatt said in an email response to questions. “The efficiency translated directly into a shorter schedule, which resulted in lower costs. Other savings were achieved by aggressively eliminating risks and reducing the impacts if they occurred. The use of contingency funds was not necessary for this project, thus contributing to cost savings in this project.”
Was Argus an Issue During Security Breach?
Even though there were significant camera and sensor malfunctions and other technological issues at the time of the 2012 security breach, Wyatt said all alarms were received by the Argus system during the event. The SIP integrated both existing and new cameras and sensors into the Argus system, he said, noting that additional upgrades were later made to the Central Alarm Station. B&W Y-12, in the contractor’s September 2012 response to a Show Cause notice following the security breach, said the performance by the plant’s security force may have been hurt by operation of Y-12’s “relatively new” Argus alarm monitoring system.
B&W said Argus became fully operational “and supplanted Y-12’s legacy system” in May 2012—several months before the incursion. The B&W report noted that Argus is a text-oriented system that operates much like a personal computer and “its display can become somewhat busy.” Whereas, Y-12’s legacy alarm system “featured a more intuitive touch-screen interface,” the report stated. The show-cause response added, “It is generally agreed that the legacy system was easier to understand and operate.” The contractor noted that even though several hours of Argus training had been provided to alarm station operators, some of the operators with legacy experience—including the one on duty during the July 2012 security breach Y-12—“continued to adjust to the Argus system’s features.” In addition, even though Y-12’s alarm technology changed early in 2012, the documents governing how central alarm station operators are supposed to respond to alarms did not, the Show Cause response said.
